Measuring saddle height

[Paulatic]

A cautionary tale:
I suppose I can be a bit slap dash at times but I’ve just had a lesson on accuracy.
Last week I did 60 ml on bike B without any problem aches or pains.
Yesterday I went out on bike A and did 60 mls. I finished tired with aching glutes and upper hamstrings also a wee bit knee pain. All symptoms, I thought, of saddle too high.
I’ve always measured saddle height by holding my measure from pedal along the seat tube to top of saddle. Crouching down and viewing top of saddle and reading off the figure.
So this morning I looked again looking for more accuracy I laid a square piece of cardboard on top of the saddle which gave a nice crisp line to measure to. Result was bike A was 7 mm higher than bike B.
Lesson learnt , I hope.

[LinusR]

7mm!? And all those aches and pains?

I measure centre of bottom bracket to top of saddle along seat tube. I have three bikes and each one has a slightly different saddle height, deliberately. Road bike: 775mm; cyclocross/gravel: 770mm; and hardtail mountain bike 760mm.

I think it more likely that you had pain because you were a week older.

[Paulatic]

7mm!? And all those aches and pains?

I measure centre of bottom bracket to top of saddle along seat tube. I have three bikes and each one has a slightly different saddle height, deliberately. Road bike: 775mm; cyclocross/gravel: 770mm; and hardtail mountain bike 760mm.

I think it more likely that you had pain because you were a week older.

I measure from the pedal because I’ve four bikes with three different crank lengths. Keeps the maths simpler.
All have same set back as well as saddle height but some, particularly MtB,have different reach.

[LinusR]

I measure from the pedal because I’ve four bikes with three different crank lengths. Keeps the maths simpler.
All have same set back as well as saddle height but some, particularly MtB,have different reach.

Your aching glutes and upper hamstrings and knee pain are all due to spending time measuring bits on your bike. You are too old for doing all that bending over and straining your eyes to read off little marks on a tape measure. Have a lie down for goodness sake!

[Mick F]

I have the saddle heights half an inch different on my two bikes.
Same crank lengths.

It's the stack heights of the pedals that makes the difference. One is Campag Pro Fit and the other is Speedplay Frog.

[pwa]

You also need to adjust your calculations if there is a difference in the squishiness (technical term) of the saddles on two or more different bikes. Saddles that have their top surface at the same height when you are not sat on them may end up at different heights when sat on.

[Samuel D]

Another reason to keep only one bicycle!

Longer cranks may cause their own discomfort even though you set the saddle height so that your leg extension at the bottom of the pedal stroke remains the same. The knee bend at the top of the stroke will be greater. Was the bicycle that caused the discomfort the one with the longer cranks in addition to the saddle 7 mm higher?

[Paulatic]

Another reason to keep only one bicycle!

Longer cranks may cause their own discomfort even though you set the saddle height so that your leg extension at the bottom of the pedal stroke remains the same. The knee bend at the top of the stroke will be greater. Was the bicycle that caused the discomfort the one with the longer cranks in addition to the saddle 7 mm higher?

Yes Bike A 172.5
Bike B 170
Exact same pedals on each and same make of saddle on each...but different models. Bike B saddle has more give in it.

You also need to adjust your calculations if there is a difference in the squishiness (technical term) of the saddles on two or more different bikes. Saddles that have their top surface at the same height when you are not sat on them may end up at different heights when sat on.

So how do we measure squishiness?

[pwa]

Another reason to keep only one bicycle!

Longer cranks may cause their own discomfort even though you set the saddle height so that your leg extension at the bottom of the pedal stroke remains the same. The knee bend at the top of the stroke will be greater. Was the bicycle that caused the discomfort the one with the longer cranks in addition to the saddle 7 mm higher?

Yes Bike A 172.5
Bike B 170
Exact same pedals on each and same make of saddle on each...but different models. Bike B saddle has more give in it.

You also need to adjust your calculations if there is a difference in the squishiness (technical term) of the saddles on two or more different bikes. Saddles that have their top surface at the same height when you are not sat on them may end up at different heights when sat on.

So how do we measure squishiness?

Squishiness is measured by the scientific process of guestimation. If I think a saddle will probably sag a bit more than another I guess / estimate by how much and put that into my calculation. I used to have a Brooks titanium Swift that sank a bit when I sat on it, so I raised it maybe 5mm higher than for a firmer saddle.

[pjclinch]

I get on and pedal. If it's not right it feels... not right and I adjust it. Never bother with a tape.

[foxyrider]

Measured height is great for resetting a bike but I prefer to use tried and tested sit on bike/leg extension for actual setting of height. This allows for saddle sag, shoe and pedal variations and of course crank length. (don't forget that even pad thickness in your shorts could make a difference - I certainly notice this if I double layer over the winter)

All my bikes have saddle height within 20mm, lower on the touring machines than the speed machines for 'comfort'. However i've recently worked out that the post ride cramp problems only happen with the lower saddle setting so guess what, i'll be raising a couple of saddles.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
20 MM is a mile, take in account all the other things that have been mentioned and it could feel further because it is.
Yes you could tolerate it, but why operate at that much extreme, the effect on knee angle will be great.
I.M.O. all other things being equal, 5MM is about the range that will not affect performance that much and limit over / under movement of leg components.
Off road is intermittent effort, but will depend on time in out the saddle.

Reach ( furthest reach available, that is how far forward can you get)
BB from ground, how are you measuring handle bar height.....?
Setback saddle nose ( adult saddles tend to be 280 MM long, so saddle nose is ok normally.
Different saddles, even same model saddles are a wee different.
Q factor, although in time you can accommodate variation.

I agree that crank length if stack is same of pedal and shoe, you should go from BB not pedal.

It matters more the harder you ride, so laid back riding will not affect you that much.

I am thinking of a jig rather than that tedious rechecking with rule a bit / 's of wood (I use too) and don't forget your glasses

That's the problem with several bikes.

Saddle height is probably the biggest killer of all.

If you are struggling with saddle height whether by feel of just setting with rule and you still have problems (I have) then it probably more likely small errors in pedal shoes feet, whether dimensional or ergonomic / lack of subtleness in below the knee muscles and joints.

I do daily calf stretches, keeps lower leg subtle and wards off tendentious.

[mercalia]

I out a bit of tape on the stem so I know what the height should be.

[PH]

Different people have different sensitivity I guess.
My most ridden bike has an eccentric bottom bracket, every time I adjust the chain I'm effectively also changing the saddle height and for/aft adjustment. I've occasionally noticed it, but over tens of thousands of miles it's never caused any problems.

[Mick F]

I'm sort of sensitive to saddle height, but not over-sensitive.
I can feel when it's not right, and I can set it easily. Maybe within a quarter of an inch one way or another would be fine. I did notice the different stack heights of my pedals from one bike to another, but I favour a low stack height because I can reach the ground better. Tall stack height has me very much on tippy toes.

One way I can tell, is the way my legs flex. I don't pedal properly as per text book, but I'm comfortable in the way I do it. I suppose I'm a toe-down sort of cyclist so some would say that my saddles are too high.

Difficult to illustrate different stack heights but here's a photo of my Speedplay plus shoe on Moulton, next to Campag plus shoe.
The difference really makes a difference.